State holding scholarship lottery for special needs children
The Mississippi Department of Education announced Monday a scholarship lottery for special needs children.
The Equal Opportunity for Students with Special Needs Act of 2015 provides scholarships to parents of students with disabilities who want to remove their child from a public school to seek educational services elsewhere.
The law provides for 425 education scholarship accounts. Two-hundred and fifty already have gone to students returning from last school year, leaving 175 scholarships available, according to MDE. Applications for the 2016-17 school year that have not been awarded will be included in the lottery.
The deadline to submit an application is July 19. The lottery will be held July 20. MDE will notify applicants of their status by July 25.
The scholarship amount has increased from $6,500 to $6,637.
Eligibility has been expanded to allow parents of children with an active Individualized Education Program within five years from the date of application to apply for the ESA program. The Individualized Education Program is a document that is developed for each public school child who is eligible for special education. The original legislation required applicants to have an active IEP within 18 months of the date of the application.
Our procedures were established to ensure equity and provide all families with the opportunity to access the scholarships.
Carey Wright
To participate in the scholarship program:
▪ Applicant must be a Mississippi resident.
▪ Student must have had an active Individualized Education Program (IEP) within five years of the date of application.
▪ Parent must sign an agreement to adhere to the rules of participation.
Parents whose children are accepted in to the program will be reimbursed for expenses quarterly after submission of a reimbursement request with expense documentation. Funds also can be paid directly to an educational service provider if approved by the parent on a quarterly basis.
Allowable expenses include:
▪ Tuition and/or fees at an eligible school
▪ Textbooks
▪ Payment to a tutor
▪ Transportation fees
▪ Educational services or therapies from certified practitioner or provider
▪ Services provided by a public school, including individual classes and extracurricular programs
▪ Textbooks related to coursework at a post secondary institution
▪ No more than $50 in annual consumable school supplies
“The law outlines the MDE’s role in administering the ESA program, which includes the application and reimbursement process,” state Superintendent Carey Wright said. “Our procedures were established to ensure equity and provide all families with the opportunity to access the scholarships.”
For more information, visit the department of education website.
This story was originally published July 12, 2016 at 11:42 AM with the headline "State holding scholarship lottery for special needs children."